Battlefield 3 (commonly abbreviated to BF3) is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released in the US on October 25, 2011 and in the UK on October 28, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and EA Mobile confirmed a port for the iOS platform. It does not support versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista as the game only supports DirectX 10 and 11.It is a direct sequel to 2005's Battlefield 2 (5 pics), and the eleventh installment in the Battlefield franchise. The game sold 5 million copies in its first week of release,and was released to critical acclaim from most game reviewers. The PC download is exclusive to EA's Origin platform,through which PC users also authenticate when connecting to the game. In campaign mode, players take on the personas of various military roles; including a special forces soldier, an F-18 systems officer, and a SPETSNAZ operative. The campaign takes place at various locations, including Iran, and follows the story of Sergeant Blackburn and later, Dimitri Mayakovsky.
Battlefield 3 features the combined arms battles that made the series popular across single-player, co-operative and multiplayer modes. It reintroduces several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position and 64-player battles on PC.To accommodate the lower player count on consoles, the ground area is limited for Xbox 360 and PS3, though fly space remains the same.
During an interview with Game Informer Magazine, EA stated that Commander Mode is unlikely to be included,which was met with some criticism on the EA forum.
The game features maps set in Paris, Tehran, Sulaymaniyah, New York, Wake Island and Oman. The maps cover urban streets, metropolitan downtown areas, and open landscapes suited to vehicle combat.
Battlefield 3 introduces the "Battlelog"; a free cross-platform social service with built-in text messaging, voice communications, game statistics, and the ability to join games that friends are already playing (though both players need to be on the same platform).